Sunday, April 28, 1996
John F. Kennedy, Jr., son of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, visited Mount Vernon by boat with his uncle, Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
As described by Mount Vernon Resident Director James Rees:
On Sunday, April 28, just two days after the conclusion of the world-famous auction of Kennedy Family memorabilia, the much-wealthier John F. Kennedy, Jr., made his first visit to Mount Vernon. A party of about seven guests arrived on a small, somewhat down-on-its-luck speedboat named 'Grand Fromage' aka 'Big Cheese,' skippered by Senator Ted Kennedy. Dennis Pogue [Director of Restoration] and Sally McDonough [Manager of Media Relations] joined me in leading the Kennedy clan on a tour of the estate.
The Summer 1996 issue of Mount Vernon: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (Vol. 10, No. 2) describes the visit as such:
Mount Vernon's Director of Restoration Dennis Pogue greets Senator Edward M. Kennedy at the wharf as Resident Director James Rees (far right) prepares to offer a tour of the estate. The Senator — who doubled as skipper —arrived with John F. Kennedy, Jr. (far left) and several friends aboard the speedboat, 'Grand Fromage.' JFK, Jr., co-founder and editor-in-chief of the new magazine named after Washington, George, was making his first visit to Mount Vernon. The group joined 6,838 other visitors on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
